Will anyone go radical this year?

[Sonic]

No jokes about the SR8 please! ;) :p

Just wondering if anyone cared to guess which team (if any) would come up with "the" design idea of 2010? Based on tit bits of information so far it doesn't look like it will be Ferarri; their car looks like a Red Bull clone if those images are to be believed.

I'm going to have a wild stab in the dark and say Force India. They had their best evr season in 2009 and perhaps will be looking to take a huge leap with something out of left field.

[Garry Walker]

Ferrari have gone radical in some areas apparently.

[wedge]

I wonder if some team(s) have copied Newey with pullrod rear suspension.

[SGWilko]

Ferrari have gone radical in some areas apparently.

Yes, they've hired Alonso. Team unity will turn radical mid-season....

[Sonic]

I wonder if some team(s) have copied Newey with pullrod rear suspension.

Pull rod gives the benefit of a small and compact rear end but has the disadvantage of making a DD very hard to package. Newey commented that had red bull gone down the DD Route from the outset he would not have used pull rod. Perhaps he'll find a magic solution this winter and manage a perfect pull rod/DD combo.

[ykiki]

When it comes to "radical", all I can say is....


I miss Tyrrell.


Some fans may not like 6 wheels, raised noses, or x-wings, but at least they were willing to take a chance. Every year I'd look forward to the launch ceremony for their new cars. Not all were pretty, but they were interesting.

[savage86]

Yeah your exactly right dude, and the fact that half of their ideas, teams on far bigger budgets all copied. Force India have kind of done a Tyrell in 2009, I saw the car up close in the Autosport show this year and the aerodynamic detailing around the side pods and a few other areas is far better than any of the teams. Shows what a small budget and new ideas can do for a team.

I reckon Force India will go radical............although im prob totally wrong lol

[Saint Devote]

There is only ONE team capable of "going radical" and that is Red Bull Racing because there is only one Adrian Newey.

Imagine the other teams reaction when Red Bull as usual enters testing late and their car looks as different this year as it did last - and then its the quickest!!!

Talk about suicide watch :-]]]

[Mia 01]

for their sake I hope it will be Williams who comes up with the"thing" this year, but I doubt it.

[christophulus]

When it comes to "radical", all I can say is....

I miss Tyrrell.

Some fans may not like 6 wheels, raised noses, or x-wings, but at least they were willing to take a chance. Every year I'd look forward to the launch ceremony for their new cars. Not all were pretty, but they were interesting.

Agreed, the rules aren't really flexible enough for anyone to be truly 'radical'. All the 2010 cars will look broadly the same, with four wheels and regulation wings etc.

It's a shame KERS isn't being used this year. I reckon with the increased weight limit and a year's extra knowledge and development, McLaren could've made it work really well; or maybe Williams could have come up with something with their flywheel system.

[Sonic]

Agreed, the rules aren't really flexible enough for anyone to be truly 'radical'. All the 2010 cars will look broadly the same, with four wheels and regulation wings etc.

It's a shame KERS isn't being used this year. I reckon with the increased weight limit and a year's extra knowledge and development, McLaren could've made it work really well; or maybe Williams could have come up with something with their flywheel system.

Agreed. I'm still bemoaning the loss of KERS. Last year was done half heartedly but if (as was origanaly planned) the available KERS power increased this year it could have become really interesting.

[RJL25]

for their sake I hope it will be Williams who comes up with the"thing" this year, but I doubt it.

Won't happen with Sam Michael in charge of the design team, this guy has to be the most conservative engineer in F1, how he was ever given the technical director job at Williams is beyond me, why he still has it is even more unbelievable!

And i'm an Aussie! We are usually very one eyed about our own, but Sam....

[ShiftingGears]

Ferrari have gone radical in some areas apparently.

Apparently according to whom?

[ShiftingGears]

Won't happen with Sam Michael in charge of the design team, this guy has to be the most conservative engineer in F1, how he was ever given the technical director job at Williams is beyond me, why he still has it is even more unbelievable!

And i'm an Aussie! We are usually very one eyed about our own, but Sam....

Yep, he really doesn't cut it. Williams and Head might like his attitude, but the once great team has only won one race since Michael became technical director...and that was in a car he didn't design.

[Rusty Spanner]

US F1 promises something innovative
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80962
Sheet metal bodywork a roof and engine in the front possibly?

[I am evil Homer]

Getting to the grid would be radical....probably a word they use every day. "I designed something, boss.""Radical, dude!"

Sauber seems to have a second rate test driver over a known quantity. Not sure if that's radical or just dumb

[jens]

USF1 and radical? Their chief aerodynamicist comes from NASCAR, so you may guess, what does that mean then. :p :

[DexDexter]

Yep, he really doesn't cut it. Williams and Head might like his attitude, but the once great team has only won one race since Michael became technical director...and that was in a car he didn't design.

To be fair to him, you usually don't win races with customers engines and a lowish budget, (until last year that is).

[truefan72]

Yes, they've hired Alonso. Team unity will turn radical mid-season....

lol

[truefan72]

for their sake I hope it will be Williams who comes up with the"thing" this year, but I doubt it.

whatever design they make will be of course completely neutralized by that cosworth engine sitting in the back

[truefan72]

I wouldn't say he was second rate as a tester because I'm sure Mclaren wouldn't have retained him for so long, had his technical knowledge been mediocre. I know him and Fernando used to get quite excited about weight distributions and tyre inflation gas a couple of years ago.. :p

2nd rate is 2nd rate. if mclaren decided to go with kovy for 2 years above De la rosa it should tell you something. Heidfeld is by far a better choice than PDLR. It was a financial decision plain and simple.

[Sonic]

Change of flag henners?

[Mark]

To be fair to him, you usually don't win races with customers engines and a lowish budget, (until last year that is).

Brawn may have had 'customer' engines, but their budget was anything but small. Certainly the development work that went into producing the car was fully funded by Honda and is believed to be one of, if not the most expensive F1 car ever produced.

[F1boat]

Brawn may have had 'customer' engines, but their budget was anything but small. Certainly the development work that went into producing the car was fully funded by Honda and is believed to be one of, if not the most expensive F1 car ever produced.

Yes, although the changes which were made for the engine and the developments were made on small budget.

[DexDexter]

Brawn may have had 'customer' engines, but their budget was anything but small. Certainly the development work that went into producing the car was fully funded by Honda and is believed to be one of, if not the most expensive F1 car ever produced.

I know, I wasn't referring to them, I was referring to customer engines, last year you could win a race with one. IMO Williams are doing a solid job considering their resources and budget.

[K-Pu]

Anyway, regulations are not-very-flexible, so radical ideas are quite strange to see... Unless someone comes across with a pull-rod suspension or something like that :) . If USF1 is really working on a radical design, I´d be happy to see it even if it does not work. At least we´ll see different things...

Some other teams will have a radical livery, that´s guaranteed. There is always someone with a horrid color scheme and in some cases the car is so immersed in its ugliness that its pace is also ugly (see Renault for more details).

[jens]

I know, I wasn't referring to them, I was referring to customer engines, last year you could win a race with one. IMO Williams are doing a solid job considering their resources and budget.

Talking about budget: the alarming thing for Williams is that even a less-funded team named Force India managed to get closer to a win last year than Williams has managed during the entire last five seasons. Though the "excuse" may be that FI had a better engine.

This is what creates a feeling that something is missing at Williams. And in the current economic climate everyone is reducing their budgets, so wealthier privateers won't be notably disadvantaged any more, if at all.

[Sonic]

It is strange that what is viewed by most to have been Nico's best season to date was also Williams' worst.

The big worry for me is they don't seem to be on the way up. When Honda left them, they had a rubbish Judd then started to rebuild with Renault. When that deal ended they had a few poor seasons with Mecha before rebuilding again with BMW. I don't see the recovery this time around.

[DexDexter]

It is strange that what is viewed by most to have been Nico's best season to date was also Williams' worst.

The big worry for me is they don't seem to be on the way up. When Honda left them, they had a rubbish Judd then started to rebuild with Renault. When that deal ended they had a few poor seasons with Mecha before rebuilding again with BMW. I don't see the recovery this time around.

You obviously remember the days when Williams was a major force in F1, IMO these days they are a solid midfield runner that produces a top ten car consistently every year and that's not bad at all.

[turismo6]

I wonder if some team(s) have copied Newey with pullrod rear suspension.


I want to see pullrod front suspension.

[Sonic]

You obviously remember the days when Williams was a major force in F1,

I do indeed.


IMO these days they are a solid midfield runner that produces a top ten car consistently every year and that's not bad at all.

And I think that's the problem. There seems to be an......acceptance (for want of a better word) from some at Williams (Sam M chief amongst them) that top ten is good enough. But when Force India came withing a KERS width of winning a GP by rights last year a team with the structure of Williams must be able to do the same at least

[wedge]

I want to see pullrod front suspension.

I highly doubt it. There isn't really an advantage for it these days.

[christophulus]

Won't happen with Sam Michael in charge of the design team, this guy has to be the most conservative engineer in F1, how he was ever given the technical director job at Williams is beyond me, why he still has it is even more unbelievable!

Apparently he's been listening to you..


Williams is pinning its hopes on an aggressive new aerodynamic package in a bid to return to winning ways this season.

Technical director Sam Michael told this week's AUTOSPORT magazine that the team's new car would not be a simple evolution of its 2009 design.

"The FW32 is a clean-sheet design from front to back," he said. "It's pretty much brand new from an aerodynamic point of viewhttp://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81003

[I am evil Homer]

Lets see...every year Toyota told us they'd made a "step forward"....sadly for them everyone else made giant leaps :D